It’s been a great month for US arms manufacturers: Just two weeks after the United States and Qatar – “the world’s largest funder of terror”, according to former President Shimon Peres – signed an $11 billion arms deal, the IsraelDefense website said Thursday that Washington has inked another multi-billion dollar deal for American firms, this time to provide Turkey with an advanced air defense system.

The deal comes at a time when Turkey appears to have re-defined its identity as a Muslim-majority democracy, as well as its role in the Middle East and the Islamic world. Although the Turkish republic, founded by Kamel Attaturk in 1923, has existed as a democracy for 90 years (with three military coups to restore democracy when the country teetered, in 1960, 1971 and 1980), Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has directed the country towards an Islamist path since coming to power in 2002.

The evidence of Erdoğan’s effort to Islamize the Attaturk Republic has been clear for years: After being banned from Turkish politics for five years in the late 1990s and early 2000s for promoting anti-Israel-democratic ideas, he has used his elections to redefine Turkish politics and international relations.

He has purged both the judiciary and the military, giving many Turks and international observers the clear feeling that he is looking to solidify a one-party, one-leader system. More journalists are in Turkish jails today than any other country on earth – not because it is formally illegal to criticise Erdoğan or the government in the local press, but rather because journalists and editors have learned to self-censor if they want to survive. Under Erdoğan’s leadership the country has moved steadily away from the democratic republic envisioned by Attaturk and steadily towards the dark Islamic republic envisioned by enlightened groups such as ISIS and al-Qaeda.

Internationally, too, Erdoğan has redefined Turkey’s interests. Under Erdoğan’s leadership, Turkey has completely abandoned a thriving relationship with Israel in favor of relationships with some of the darkest regimes on the planet: Iran, Hamas, Syria, Libya. Even Turkey’s relationship with the United States has not been immune: In mid-July he said he “no longer speaks” to President Barack Obama, in protest of the latter’s supposed lack of support for Palestinians in Gaza.

The $4 billion missile defense deal is significant not only in light of Erdoğan’s Islamist leanings, but also because of Turkey’s wider geo-political stance. The deal, which has been delayed four times over the past year, mainly due to Erdoğan’s domestic political needs as he completes his term as prime minister and runs for president, is also relevant because American and European companies have been competing for the air defense contracts against competitors from Russia and China – the geo-political equivalent of a slap in the face to Washington and Brussels.

In that sense, then, the deal stands to re-cement Ankara’s standing in the West, and also to reassure President Obama and European leaders that Turkey has not ‘changed sides’ – at least, not completely.

Finally, the deal is critical as the United States heads to mid-term elections amidst signs of economic slowdown. Last month, Raytheon-Lockheed announced layoffs in Rhode Island and Massachussetts. Furthermore, many large weapons-producing states, such as Alabama, are not naturally Democratic support bases. Taken together, inking the Turkey deal was a clear economic interest for the United States, and a political interest for President Obama and the Democratic Party.

All of which suggests, however, that the choice of short-term financial gain over longer-term political interests is unstable at best. For Prime Minister Erdoğan, Turkey’s path is clear. Nothing illustrates this better than Erdoğan’s outrageous comparisons of Israel to Nazi Germany and Jewish Home MK Ayelet Shaked to Hitler. Especially in light of the current deal, the silence from the administration on growing state anti-Semitism in Turkey is deafening.

But President Obama’s silence on Turkish anti-Semitism cannot change the fact that the administration recognises both the possibility that Turkey could bolt the NATO stable, and also that that move would be a political earthquake. In that light, the current move is a desperate attempt to curry favor with an shaky ally on the way out, at the expense of a solid one that is firmly in the American orbit.

Meir Halevi Siegel

About the Author:Meir is a news writer for JewishPress.com - and he loves his job.

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When a nation turns away from God, then God will give them a reprobate mind; a mind that will often do things that are not in it’s own best interest. The majority in the US has elected officials that do not truly believe in the word of God and this is the type of result we get. The things that the Bible has taught us to watch for in the end times are taking place in concert. We have the Syrian un-civil war and the Iraqi war that has given rise to ISIS which now spans both countries. We have Israel and Hamas in the state of war again. We have Russia taking the Crimea and supporting Ukrainian seperatists. We have China ramming and sinking ships off Vietnam and threatening other oil bearing area’s in Pacific. Honestly I could go on and on. We have more major earthquakes of over 5.0 than any time in recorded history. The Bible tells us that nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. It tells us that there will be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in divers places. What is known as the church age is coming to an end. Today’s events, I believe will escalate to a point that we are going to face a new world economic and political order. Soon an agreement of 7 (360 day) years will be made with the nations who hate Israel. That agreement will be viewed as evil in God’s eyes and has been foretold. I have been watching for these things for decades and now they are on us. I wrote a book that discusses some of the prophecies written about in the Bible. It’s a short read of 6 or 7 pages and it’s totally free. I hope you will have a look: http://www.booksie.com/religion_and_spirituality/book/richard_b_barnes/after-the-rapture-whats-next

This isn’t fair. Turkey is a NATO ally. In addition, the US has played both sides of the Arab Israeli conflict since 1947. Of course, if you think Obama was made all the presidents since 47 to give military aid to the Arabs, I would love to see the evidence…

This is infuriating. I find our US President’s behavior to be very unacceptable! He is funding the war against Israel. How can we as US citizens allow our government to do this travesty of injustice against Israel?

Considering that after the Syrian debacle by his lordship, one, Barack Obama, the doors were thrown open to Putin, ever the sly fox. Nations who would normally purchase military hardware from the US,are buying hardware from Russia and France. The US has to keep the economy running, right? There have been billions of dollars lost, from Obama’s engineering. Political prostitution is alive and well!

The Obama regime should be honest and just send the arms directly to Hamas. It wastes time to go through the middle men,Qatar and Turkey. Obama could be more efficient and honest. He is a major supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood and is probably heartbroken over the current situation of Hamas.Since he is continuing to send funds to the PUG,no matter what Hamas does,he might just as well send the weapons there since it will end up there anyway.